Having a Baby In Philippines

Having a Baby in the Philippines

Having A Baby in The Philippines

Makati Medical Center (MMC) in Manila - Delivery of a baby at MMC compared to USA.

A few years ago, my wife chose Dr. Marinette Sto Domingo, to be her OBGYN. She has a clinic at Makati Medical Center, in Manila. She proved to be a very personable and competent doctor. She always returned our calls and advised us well. We are now the proud parents of a happy and healthy little girl. The total cost for hospital and doctors' bills for a c-section was about $3,000 US (including 9 months of doctor visits, room, tests, 2 ultrasounds, emergency visits, consultations with nutritionist and medications). Compare that to cost in the USA of between $6,000 US and $20,000 US for a normal delivery and up to $38,000 US for a Cesarean (not including doctors' visits, tests and medications).

If a baby is premature and needs intensive care for 90 days it can set you back about one million Pesos in the Philippines (or about $23,719 US at the exchange rate on July 1, 2012). The same services in the USA can set you back about $7,000 to $10,000 per day. At that rate 90 days in intensive care could cost you $600,000 or more. Most preterm babies do not require 90 days so in 2005 the average additional cost of a preterm baby was $51,600 US.

A Cesarean birth, including doctors' visits, a few emergency room visits and about 4 days in a private hospital room at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, FL, in March 2015, was billed at $60,500 US.  If it were not for health insurance that cost would be enough to break most families. 

See what a new mother wrote at her blog in October 2011. Her total cost of delivery and hospital stay at MMC.

Find out about hospitals in the Philippines, including MMC.

If you have had experiences at Philippine hospitals, clinics or birthing centers, good or bad, please share with us by making comments below.

Filipina guide to compute maternity benefits. 

Filipina - Information about 5 hospitals in Metro Manila.

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This post will be expanded upon. Check back for more information about having a baby and maternity in the Philippines. Last updated June 3, 2022.

Home School Philippines

Home Schooling in the Philippines

Assisted Living Philippines, ALF

Assisted Living in the Philippines

Assisted Living Facilities in the Philippines

All Care Assisted Living

List of Nursing Homes in the Philippines

Here is a sample of an existing nursing home.

Definition of Assisted Living:

A system of housing and limited care that is designed for senior citizens who need some assistance with daily activities but do not require care in a nursing home.

Several facilities which were featured here have apparently been closed during the recent "crisis." Their links have been removed today (April 9, 2022.)

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This post will be expanded. Check back for more information about assisted living in the Philippines. Last updated June 3, 2022.

Disaster Preparedness Philippines

Prepare for Disasters

Disaster Preparedness

During five years living in the Greater Manila area I have walked through flooded streets, ridden in a pedicab with water up to our seat, heard tin roofs rattling and banging in our compound in Paranaque during typhoons, watched children play and swim in highways while buses and jeepneys plowed through the water near them. I've stayed in a cottage close to the beach at the Lido Beach Resort, in Cavite, during a surprise storm. In the morning the catamaran that was on the beach was missing, apparently swept away by the wind and waves.

There have been disasters occur while we lived there. Fires where many shanty homes burned down, flooding rivers where many people have died in mud slides along the river banks, ferry boats and other boats have sunk.

I never prepared past having a Katadyn pocket water filter to filter drinking water and keeping copies of important papers and my passport in a safe place.

 

There is also the possibility of volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Be ready to grab your valuables and flee if advised to. 

I plan to be more prepared in future. I plan to follow the steps outlined at the US State Department website. 

Watch this video about developing Situational Awareness.

Update July 30, 2015: The government has warned that there is a possibility of an imminent "7.5 killer earthquake" in Metro Manila and out into surrounding provinces. See this article in the Sun Star Manila. You may want to adjust your travel plans accordingly. Maybe you will want to visit some islands other than Luzon. Cebu is a great place to visit. Check out other places in my article about adventure in the Philippines.

Keep things ready to go at all times.

UN raps Philippines for failing to rehouse typhoon homeless (as reported by Channel News Asia July 31, 2015.)

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This post will be expanded. Check back for more information about disaster preparedness in the Philippines. Last updated July 30, 2022.